So, all companies are lawful because they are required to be. That's a bit of a tautology, no? It also doesn't play out in reality.
Maybe they keep the company running so they can do secondary offerings and an IPO, so the investors and executives get paid, is the motivation to do unlawful things. Maybe it's okay to break the law now, cause when they are bigger and public they'll go back and fix it - breaking the law is a cost of doing business. Maybe they were so focused on signing the deal that they didn't want to hear from compliance. It's not the first time legal / compliance was railroaded or disregarded at a startup, in the name of doing something great. In the startup world, that's kind of a badge of honor.
Maybe they keep the company running so they can do secondary offerings and an IPO, so the investors and executives get paid, is the motivation to do unlawful things. Maybe it's okay to break the law now, cause when they are bigger and public they'll go back and fix it - breaking the law is a cost of doing business. Maybe they were so focused on signing the deal that they didn't want to hear from compliance. It's not the first time legal / compliance was railroaded or disregarded at a startup, in the name of doing something great. In the startup world, that's kind of a badge of honor.